Day 4: Holding On
by OzzylovestheScottie
Summary: OTP Christmas Challenge: Day 4 - Buying Christmas presents Wandering through a galactic marketplace, Clara finds the perfect Christmas present for the Doctor.


They were in a large galactic marketplace, on a planet in a galaxy she couldn't pronounce, when she saw it, her Christmas present for the Doctor.

They had been wandering around the market, sipping on a warm, creamy aqua concoction that tasted faintly of nutmeg and cranberries. Casually sweeping from stall to stall, she admired the mountains of treasures and trinkets glowing in the moonlight, enticing eager tourists. Food stalls with ingredients that seemed like they'd jumped straight out of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. Jewellers that claimed to sell bright jewels and stones that held the heart of a star. Constellations in crystal form. Snow swirled through the night sky as they watched hundreds of docking ships, all sizes and colours zoom back and forth through the atmosphere.

The Doctor had been telling her a story of a ship he had spent Christmas on one year, flying it through space, averting it crashing into a planet after an attack from mechanical angels. She missed the name of the ship when her attention was captured by a small stall that seemed to be filled with antique odds and ends. Clocks, mechanical jewellery boxes, old mechanical dolls. There, resting against what looked like a small bronze snuff box was a small silver fob watch, gorgeous intricate vines and swirls decorated the border of the face. The light of the orbs lining the street danced across its casing.

She had been searching through stalls and shops they had visited all across the galaxy, looking for the right present for the Doctor for weeks. What did you get a two thousand year old time lord? She'd thought of a number of things that might appeal to him, none of them stuck for very long. Something for his guitar? She didn't know enough about instruments to have even the slightest clue where to start. He didn't seem to use any sheet music either so that was a bust as well. A jumper without holes in it? That seemed too impersonal. She wanted to give him something that showed him how much he meant to her. How essential he had become to her very being. She finally decided on a watch, to replace the one he had bartered away for a tattered old coat during the first few days of his recent regeneration.

She'd seen hundreds of watches but none of them seemed right; too big, two small, too plain. But this one was perfect. The face seemed like any other watch at first, the numbers were bold and sharp. The hands had tiny intricate carvings, twisting and twirling to their sharp points. Then from the corner, near the one, a beautiful, detailed painted leaf, brown and red, swirled across the face, twirling through an imaginary breeze.

 _You blew into this world on a leaf. Hold tight, it will take you home._

He had saved her life with that simple leaf, the leaf she blew into the world on. And in turn, that leaf had saved him. Without that leaf, there would have been no impossible girl and without his impossible girl there would be no more Doctor.

A leaf flying across time, how fitting.

"I always said it was a stupid name for a ship… Clara?" The Doctor looked down at Clara only to find she had vanished. An uneasy feeling began to bubble in the pit of his stomach as he whirled around, his eyes darted around in a panic, searching frantically through the crowds for the small brunette.

"Clara!"

"What?"

He spun around, towards her voice and almost collided with her. She stumbled back, her eyes wide in surprise at his sudden closeness. Once the hearts had finally stopped racing, he glared down at her.

"What part of don't wander off do seem incapable of understanding? Because I'd be more than happy to explain it to you with some diagrams if that would be easier."

"Relax, I was just doing a little shopping," she huffed, rolling her eyes and held up a TARDIS blue box, tied up with a silver embroidered ribbon.

"What's that?" he asked curiously. The Doctor reached out to take it, but yelped when she swatted his hand away, quickly shoving it into her coat pocket, out of his reach.

"Christmas present for Dad. He's been dropping hints for weeks about a new set of cufflinks, "she lied.

He narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously but made comment on the matter. Whether he believed her or not, he didn't let on. The Doctor held her gaze before coughing awkwardly and looked away to the traffic above them. She watched as he unclenched his teeth; his shoulder drooped slightly as the last of the tense panic rushed out of him. As much as he tried to hide it, she hadn't missed his slight meltdown at her disappearance. It seemed to be happening more and more; his reluctance to let her out of his sight. His new found acceptance to physical contact was another thing she noticed. He no longer flinched when she threw her arms around him, when she kissed his cheek.

She'd given up on subtlety a long time ago when it came to her feeling for the Doctor, always hoping one day that he might return a few of those kisses. He never did of course; even though he seemed to accept the contact he never initiated it. But hey! A girl could dream couldn't she?

She could feel her heart glow as gazed up at him, a smirk tugging on her lips. Did those touches matter as much to him as they did to her? Or had he just simply given up on arguing?

"Well…" The Doctor started, breaking her out of her trance. "As long as you didn't get him any 52nd century sonic adapters."

Clara giggled and slipped her arm through his as they began to make their way through the crowds once again.

"Of course not," she teased, "Those are for Gran."

He chuckled and leaned into her warmth, all tension left in his muscles finally drained away in her presence. Slowly, he moved his arm from her grasp until her hand sat in his. He curled his long nimble fingers around her own and squeezed tightly, to remind himself that she was there; and to keep her from running off again.

Clara's heart galloped in her chest as she squeezed back, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. His gaze remained fixed ahead but the pink hue that dusted the tops of his ears, gave him away. She could tell by the twitch in his jaw as well that he was desperately trying not to look at her. She remained silent as they treaded through the snow, not wanting to spook him after such a huge leap. But as hard as she tried she couldn't stop the large grin gleaming on her face. Maybe there was hope after all.


End file.
